“Lizzy,when you first read that letter,I am sure you could not treat the matter as you do now.”
“And yet I meant to be uncommonly clever in taking so decided a dislike to him, without any reason. It is such a spur to one's genius, such an opening for wit, to have a dislike of that kind. One may be continually abusive without saying anything just;but one cannot always be laughing at a man without now and then stumbling on something witty.”
“But you blame me for having spoken so warmly of Wickham?”“No―I do not know that you were wrong in saying what you did.”
“But you will know it,when I have told you what happened the very next day.”
“This will not do,”said Elizabeth;“you never will be able to make both of them good for anything.Take your choice,but you must be satisfied with only one.There is but such a quantity of merit between them;just enough to make one good sort of man;and of late it has been shifting about pretty much.For my part, I am inclined to believe it all Mr.Darcy's;but you shall do as you choose.”
“Indeed,I could not.I was uncomfortable enough,I was very uncomfortable,I may say unhappy.And with no one to speak to about what I felt,no Jane to comfort me and say that I had not been so very weak and vain and nonsensical as I knew I had!Oh! how I wanted you!”